Penasco, NM

The affordability dashboard for Penasco, NM aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,209 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (32/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $48,906, median home value of $202,700, median rent of $1,013 per month, and 14.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,279 per month (studio $908, 1BR $1,072, 3BR $1,593, 4BR $2,146).

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Pressure points are income, education, housing, commute. Unemployment currently reads 5.0% and poverty 13.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.